Aerosol can spray head



Nov. 3, 1959 J. A. DOYLE AEROSOL CAN SPRAY HEAD 2 Sheets-Sheet -1 Filed Feb; 29. 1956 INVENTOR L 0c K$ ATTORNEY J. A. DOYLE AEROSOL CAN SPRAY HEAD Nov. 3, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 29, I956 INVENTOR L oQKS ATTORNEY 2,911,159 I AEROSOL CAN SPRAY HEAD James A. Doyle, Baltimore, Md., assignor of twenty-four and one-half percent to Henry L. Wingo, Kingsville,

Md., and twenty-tour and one-half percent to Vernon Caldwell, Baltimore, Md.

Application February 29,1956, seen No. 568,538

8 Claims. c1..239--57s) for spraying foams such as shampoos and shaving creams. In'such foam'type aerosol spray apparatus the propellant may be partially emulsified with the active Similarly, and prior to the instant in-' ven'tion, there have been available aerosol spray heads "ice Patented Nov; 3, 1959 Fig. 4 is an enlarged exploded view in perspective of two complementary die castings of the aerosol spray head in accordance with the invention."

Fig. 5 is an enlarged view in perspective of a finger lever which is part of the aerosol spray head-in accordance with the invention.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view show-' ing the spray orificeand valve modified for the spraying ingredient but all that the spray passes is nevertheless a fluid.

Prior to the instant invention attempts have been made to utilize aerosol spray packages for spraying paints wherein some of the active ingredients include small particles-suchas pigment particles-of a size up to 3 mils b'ut'these structures havenot been successful for the sprays have lacked uniformity and the resultant work effected by the spray has been unsatisfactory. With the use of priorstruc'tures, sputtering and similar non-uniform flow or spray occurs, which serves to defeat the purpose of an aerosol spray package containing a surface coating such as paint. v

f lt is an object of the instant invention to provide a novelaeros l spray head which may be easily manufactured; which will have relatively few parts, and will serve universally to Work satisfactorily with space sprays, foam prbducts and surface coatings such as paint with but simple modification of the spray nozzle in the case'of foam products. z

7 It is another object of the instant invention to provide aerosol spray head which can be economically manufactured in quantity production, which will have a selfcleaning external orifice, which is effective to spray ma terials of relatively heavy solid content, which will not require cleaning, which will provide a relatively great degree of control of spray volume and pattern, which will'permit' spraying 'of a relatively great number of materials of wide range of viscosity, which will inhibit and break up settlement and flocculation, which will eliminate malfunction due to clogging of the valve seat or orifices, which will involve positive needle val-ve operation and which may be lever operated.

Other objects and the nature and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a view in perspective of an aerosol package having an aerosol head in acordance with the invention. a I

2 is an enlarged view in perspective of the aerosol spray head in accordance with the invention.

Referring to Figures 1+5 inclusive, the main body elemerit 10-of the aerosol spray head may be a zinc die casting comprising a lower generally disc-like portion 11, a central column-like portion 12 and a generally coneshaped upper portion 13, the axis of said cone-shaped portion 13 being generally at right angles to the axis of said column-like portion 12.

' The transverse section taken horizontally through said column-like portion 12 being generally in the form of a triangle having an apex 12a on one side and a base 12b on the other side so that the portion 12 is generally prism shaped. The element 13 of generallyconical shape has its converging end 13b on the same side of the body Ill as the apex 12a.

The portion 11 of the body 19' is provided with a de-' pending circular skirt 14 which is adapted to engage the walls'15 forming an opening therefor in the can top 16. The can top 15 is not part of the aerosol head, however, the body 10 is adapted to be assembled thereto by engaging the skirt 14 with the walls 15 of the can top 16 prior to assembling the can top 16 with the aerosol can 17.

Acordingly, it will be understood that the aerosol can may be filled with the desired ingredients prior to-as semblin'g therewith apre-assembled aerosol'head 10 and can top '16. I

Extending through the portion 11 and upwardly aiid into the portion 12' is the generally cylindrical passage 18. At the top of the passage 18 and formed on the interior of the portion 12 there is the annular shoulder 19.

Against the annular shoulder 19 and immediately therebelow is located the disc-shaped screen fabric 20 which isheld in place by the annular wall 21 of the polyethylene tube 22 which, in turn, is held in place within the passage 18 of the portion 12 by a force fit. The lower end of the polyethylene tube 22 is long enough to extend to a place near the bottom of the aerosol can 17.

Above the screen 20, within the body 10 and generally -about where the portion. 12 is integrally joined to the I portion 13, there is provided a generally bullet-shapedpassageway 23 leading to the orifice 24.

The valve member 26 comprises a valve head 27, a reduced cylindrical neck'portion 28, and a cylindrical valve stem 29.

The valve head 27 is formed with a cylindrical portion 30 having cylindrical walls 25, a frusto-conical portion 31, :anannular shoulder 32, a cylindrical extension 33, a small frusto-conical portion 34 and a very small cleanout'cylindrical projecting member 35.

The walls 25 of the valve chamber 26 are slidingly fitted within the cylindrical passage36 of the element 13. Arranged about the cylindrical extension 33 in a tight fit is a nylonisealing gasket 37 in the shape of an annular ring, the outer face of which is adapted to engage the. Wall 38 Within the portion" 13 in order to effectively Fig. 3 is an enlarged vertical-section of;an aerosol spray head in acordance with the invention.

seal the aerosol head when the device is not in operation and in' this position the small projecting member35 will be in close sliding contact with the cylindrical bore 39 forming the spray orifice for the aerosol head so that the spray orifice will. always be kept clean while the device is notoperating.

The space between the exterior walls of the fru'stoconical portion 31, the walls of the passage 36 andthe interior of the walls 40 within the portion 13 forms an expansion chamber and this space is maintained at its smallest volume prior to operation of the aerosol head.

Cooperating with the portion 13 is the dish-shaped cap element 41 comprising the disc-like portion 42 formed with the bore 43 for cooperation with the stem 29.

The disc-like portion 42 is also provided with a peripheral flange 44 for engagement with the interior'walls 45 of the portion 13. The circular rim-like end 46 of the portion 13 is adapted to be turned over the annular shoulder 47 of the peripheral flange 44 when the cap 41 is assembled with the portion 13.

Prior to assembly'of the cap 41 with the portion 13 of the body 10, the annular diaphragm 43 is assembled with'the portion 28 of the valve member 26 by molding it in place or in any other suitable manner. The portion 49 of the diaphragm 48 near its periphery is'adapted to engage on one side 50 with the wall 51 of the portion 13. and on the other side 52 with the wall 53 of the with satisfactory results. There will be no sputtering nor other non-uniform action.

' When the operators finger is removed from the finger contact portion 68 the compression spring 54 will take over the automatic movement of the valve member 26 so as to close the orifice 24, seal the orifice 39 at the point of contact of the walls 38 with the sealing gasket 37 and place the projection 35 in protecting position within the orifice 39 so as to keep the orifice 39 clean.

Thus it will be understood that the screen 20, the orifice 24, the expansion chamber formed by the walls 31, 40, and passage 36 cooperate to insure that there will be no clogging or undesirable change in configuration of the fluid passages which cooperate to form the final spray peripheral flange 44 of the cap 41, thereby forming a compression fit between the walls 50 and 53, the degree of compression fit being controlled by seating of the wall 53 on the shoulder 45a.

A compression spring 54 in the shape of a frustoconical helix engages at its base the inner wall 55 of the cap 41 and at its opposite end engages the washer 56 which presses against the side 52 of the diaphragm 48.

Thus, it will be understood that under the influence of the spring 54, after the cap 41 is assembled to the portion 13 of the body 10, the diaphragm 48 which is sealed at its periphery by the walls 51 of the portion 13 and wall 53 of the cap 41, will be held in sealing relation against the Wall 57 of the valve member 26 and so seal the chamber 58 from the chamber 59.

Hinged to the end 60 of the stem 29 by pintle 61 is the operating lever 62 comprising a leg 63 and a platform 64. The operating lever 62 is shown in full lines in Figure 3 in inoperative position such as is normal when the aerosol can is packed either before or after loading. The operating lever 62 in Figure 3 is shown in broken lines in position ready for operation of the aerosol head.

In the position shown in broken lines in Figure 3, the wall 65 of the leg 63 engages the projecting bar 66 formed integrally with the cap 41 so that the projecting bar 66 serves as a fulcrum for the operating lever 62.

One side 67 of the platform 64 of the operating lever 62 is formed with a finger contact portion 68 and also with a portion 69 whiich follows the contour of the uppermost section of the portion 13 of the body 10.

In operation, with the operating lever 62 in the position shown in broken lines in Fig. 3, with the device fully assembled including a loaded aerosol can, when the finger contact portion 68 is depressed the leg 63 will rotate about said fulcrum 66 and pull the valve stem 29 through the action of pintle 61 which has some lost motion, against the force of said compression spring 54 so that the valve 26 will move toward the cap member 41 thereby uncovering the orifice 24 and increasing the size of the expansion chamber which is formed by the walls 31, 40 and the passage 36. The gasket 37 will also be moved away from the wall 38 so as to open the spray orifice 39. As the mechanism is held in this position, the contents of the aerosol can 17 which are held under pressure by the propellant, which may be Freon, causes the combination of the propellant and active ingredients, which may include spray coatings comprising smallsolid particles of a size up to 3 mils, to rise upwardly within the tube 22 through the screen 29 through the orifice 24 into the expansion chamber formed by the walls 31, passage 36 and walls 40 where some decrease in pressure will take place and thereupon the combination of propellant and active ingredients will emerge from the orifice 39 in the form of the desired steady spray. This spray will be uniform and consistent and can be used not only as a space spray but also as a coating spray and spraying condition and that the combination of the propellant and active ingredients will emerge through a clean orifice in the proper condition corresponding to the type of service required.

Thefull throw of the valve member 26 from fully closed position to fully opened position is controlled by the length of the inwardly turned rim 70 extending from the disc portion 42 of the cap 41. Accordingly, the rim 70 insures a constant position of the valve when it is fully open and this in turn assures a constant spray condition which is a cooperating factor along with the elements previously described. I

Referring to Figure 6, the portion 13 of the body ele ment 10 has been modified as shown at 13' and correspondingly the portions 34 and 35 of element 26 have been modified as shown at 34 and 35. Further, correspondingly, the spray orifice 39 has been modified as shown at 39. In this modified form of device a spray in the form of foam can be eifected.

:It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention and therefore the invention is not limited to what is shown in the drawings and described in the specification but only as indicated in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

.1. -In an aerosol spray head for an aerosol spray can, a die cast body comprising a disc-like lower portion, an intermediate column-like portion and a generally cone shaped upper portion, a die cast dish-shaped cap complementing said body and associated with the base of said cone shaped upper portion, the axis of said cone-shaped portion being generally transversely disposed with respect to the general axis of said column-like portion, said column-like portion being generally in the shape of a triangular prism with the apex of its triangular section facing in the same general direction as the projected apex of said generally cone shaped upper portion, said disc-like lower portion having a diameter greater than the altitude of the triangular section of said intermediate column-like portion, said lower portion having an extending part adapted to be associated with the margin forming a hole in the top of an aerosol can, said upper portion being formed with a spray orifice, interior walls forming a valve chamber, a valve in said chamber for controlling said spray orifice, means for operating said valve, interior walls in said lower portion and said intermediate portion forming a passage leading from the bottom of said lower portion through said intermediate portion to said valve chamber.

2. The structure recited in claim 1, said spray orifice being generally at the apex of the cone-shaped upper portion.

3. The structure recited in claim 2, the upper portion of said walls forming said passage leading to said valve chamber being restricted to form a second orifice, said valve in closed position closing said first orifice, the volume of said valve chamber being larger than the volume of said valve so as to form an expansion chamber. 4. The structure recited in claim 1, a diaphragm with- 1n sa1d upper portion cooperating to form and separating said valve chamber from a motor chamber, said cap and said diaphragm enclosing said motor chamber, said cap diaphragm into said motor chamber, a spring motor in said motor chamber urging said diaphragm toward said valve chamber, said diaphragm being in engagement with said valve, said motor acting to seal said diaphragm against said valve where it joins said valve stem.

5. The structure recited in claim 4, a valve seat within said upper portion, said diaphragm limited against movement in one direction by said valve seat, means on the interior of said cap for limiting the movement of said diaphragm in the opposite direction.

6. The structure recited in claim 5, said valve stem extending through said cap to its exterior, said means for operating said valve comprising a lever secured to said extended bottom of said valve stem by a st motion hinge connection, fulcrum means formed on the exterior of said cap, said lever being adapted to cooperate with said fulcrum means for operating said valve.

7. The structure recited in claim 6, said lever comprising a leg and a finger engaging platform, said leg being connected to said valve stem and said platform being the free end of said lever.

generally at right angles to said platform, said leg being 8. The structure recited in claim 7, the fulcrum means being arranged on said cap below the point where the valve stem emerges from said cap, said leg and said platform being so arranged one with respect to the other that in a first position when the leg engages the fulcrum means, the platform extends in a direction away from the spray orifice and in a second position the leg is swung upwardly through an arc of approximately causing the platform to extend over the said upper portion and point in the same general direction as the spray orifice.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 991,725 Kennedy May 9, 1911 1,465,147 Reidt Aug. 14, 1923 2,136,940 Ehbrecht Nov. 15, 1938 2,362,102 Simon Nov. 7, 1944 2,681,252. Tottle June 15, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS 996,800 France Sept. 5, 1951 

